Campaigns

Liberato Restaurant

For years, immigrant workers at Liberato Restaurant in the Bronx were paid well below minimum wage, experienced unsafe and illegal working conditions. Some were sexually harassed by the restaurant’s owner and some of the managers.

But workers stood up to make things better, telling the restaurant to treat them with respect and pay legal minimum wage. They trained and organized with Laundry Workers Center, launching their public campaign with hundreds from the community on April 19, 2014. For many months, they protested outside the restaurant, recruited coworkers into their campaign, lead trainings on sexual harassment, organized community forums, and inspired folks all over New York City and beyond.

After nearly two years of struggle–and after being illegally fired for organizing and slammed with a federal RICO lawsuit–our members in the Liberato campaign were victorious! Workers are now paid at least minimum wage, won real improvements in the workplace including a time clock, and began receiving settlement checks for the back wages owed to them. Read more about their amazing victory here.